Dairy goat production is an alternative livestock enterprise suitable for many small-scale or part-time livestock operations. Some dairy goat producers have been successful in pasteurizing goat milk and building an on-farm jugging business, while others have ventured into processed milk products for retail distribution, especially specialty cheeses and yogurt.

To remain profitable, producers should be monitoring and making decisions based on their herd's "income over feed costs" (IOFC). This enables producers to make more informed decisions about feed purchases, know when to lock in milk price, or adjust the ration program to accommodate price volatility.

Production of high-quality dairy-beef is relatively new to the beef industry and depends almost entirely on Holstein bull calves. Until recently, most Holstein calves were sold for veal. However, the high-quality meat produced when these animals are fed high-energy diets and harvested at a young age (12 to 14 months) has become popular with consumers.

Monitoring feed intakes and forage dry matters (DM) can help reduce feed costs or increase milk income, leading to a greater profit. This record book is designed to help you monitor feeding data from your herd daily.

Calf health, growth, and productivity rely heavily on nutrition and management practices. Every heifer calf born on a dairy farm represents an opportunity to maintain or increase herd size, to improve the herd genetically, or to improve economic returns to the farm. The objectives of raising the newborn calf to weaning age are optimizing growth and minimizing helath problems. To accomplish these goals, it is necessary to understand the calf's digestive system, immune system, and nutrient needs, as well as the feed options available to meet those needs.

Feeding adequate quantities of high-quality forages is the basis of profitable milk and livestock production. Forage production, harvest, storage, and feed practices have changed greatly over the past 50 years in Pennsylvania, and silage has become a staple forage. High-level management and sizeable financial outlays are necessary to efficiently produce, harvest, store, and feed silage.

Topics covered in this publication include information about characteristics of the estrous cycle, signs of heat, factors affecting estrous behavior, the timing of insemination, milk progesterone analysis as a tool for heat detection, evaluation of heat detection efficiency, and estrous detection aids.

Monitoring milk production and waste milk can help reduce the cost of business or increase the income, leading to a greater profit. This record book is designed to help you monitor the data from your herd daily.

This article uses annual data collected by the National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) from Pennsylvania dairy farms to examine trends in dairy production and cow numbers in relation to drilling activity.